glass, and we’d been seated for ten minutes with nosign of a waitress. Still, I knew what my dad would say. By thispoint, it was part of the routine

.“Well, I gotta tell you. I see potential here.”

He was looking around as he said this, taking in the décor.Luna Blu was described on the menu as “Contemporary Italianand old-fashioned good!” but from what I could tell from thefew minutes we’d been there, the latter claim was question-able. First, it was 12:30 on a weekday, and we were one of onlytwo tables in the place. Second, I’d just noticed a good quarterinch of dust on the plastic plant that was beside our table. Butmy dad had to be an optimist. It was his job.Now, I looked across at him as he studied the menu, hisbrow furrowed. He needed glasses but had stopped wearingthem after losing three pairs in a row, so now he just squinteda lot. On anyone else, this might have looked strange, but onmy dad, it just added to his charm.